Metallurgical Technicians

The specific type of exploring that you might want to do depends on which aspect of metallurgy is most attractive to you. If production is most appealing, you might arrange for an individual or group visit to a foundry, steel mill, or other plant. Although part-time or summer job opportunities in such settings may be limited to menial tasks, this should not discourage you. Having worked at even the most menial job is often viewed by employers as a sign of interest and can be an advantage when applying for future work.

If you are interested in the laboratory or research side of metallurgy, consider visiting an industrial laboratory. Ideally, it would be a metallurgical or materials science laboratory, but a visit to a laboratory in a related industry would also be useful. Metallurgical laboratories are found in a wide variety of companies, including biomedical firms, automobile manufacturers, and aerospace plants. It may also be possible to visit a research lab at a university with a metallurgical engineering or materials science department. Through such visits, you could see what technicians actually do, observe the equipment they use, and perhaps speak with them about their jobs.